The Fancher's of Fairfield County, Connecticut

As I posted the other day, I am now working on my husband's family, most of who came from the northeast area.  I had prepared a document that I wanted to upload to my family tree, but, after trying everything and becoming exasperated beyond belief, I decided to post it here.  With no further ado... here it is.

ELEAZER L. FANCHER

25 January 1848.  Eleazer married Elizabeth Raymond in New Canaan, CT.  They had four children; Arthur W, Eugene, Rumsey I, and Emma L.  Eugene married Bessie G. Mosman, who died leaving him with two children, Carleton and Hazel.

Eleazer was most probably a native of Lewisboro (Westchester Co, NY), and served as postmaster of Vista (part of Lewisboro) for 28 years, and was also a notary public for many years.  He was the son of Rumsey B. Fancher, who was a carpenter in Vista, as well as being a charter member of Friendship Division # 10 of the New Canaan Sons of Temperance.

At first, Eleazer was involved in the general mercantile business. He then started making shoes in Vista.  These shoes were made by the old hand process.  Within a few years, he started making shoes by machine, and in 1884, he and his son Arthur W. founded Fancher, Ruscoe, and Co. in Norwalk, CT.  which manufactured machine made shoes.  In 1885, the Fanchers came to Park Street, in New Canaan, as Fancher and Company (Eleazer, Arthur W, and Eugene Fancher.)  In 1887 they moved to Bridgeport CT, and formed the Fancher and Ten Eyck Shoe Company, which was dissolved in 1891, when Eleazer Fancher and his two sons (Arthur and Eugene) returned to New Canaan and started a partnership with son Rumsey I Fancher.  This partnership was formed on 1 Oct 1891, and was named Fancher and Company.

RUMSEY I FANCHER learned how to make shoes from his father, Eleazer.  While mastering the trade of shoemaking, he worked for a short time at the HW Merriam Shoe Company in Newton, New Jersey.  He then spent a year making shoes with Robert Dix in Darien CT, and from there went to work in his father and brother’s firm, E.L. and A.W Fancher, in Vista NY.

On 28 February 1888, Rumsey started making shoes in New Canaan, CT., in a factory on the corner of Maple Street and South Avenue.  In August 1888, he became a partner in R.I. Fancher and Company with Alva L. Dickens, and the factory was moved to Railroad Avenue in New Canaan.  This partnership was dissolved on 1 September 1889.  Rumsey then moved back into the factory on Maple Street, where he continued to make shoes until he joined his father and brothers in Fancher and Company and they moved back to the Railroad Avenue location (in 1891).

Rumsey Fancher married Frances J. Raymond in New Canaan, CT, and they had one daughter, Florence L.  Rumsey, Eleazer, and Eugene were members of Harmony Lodge #67  F. & A. M.

Eugene was also a member of St. John’s Lodge, I.O.O.F. at Norwalk, and the Commercial Travelers Mutual Accident Association of North America.

Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut; Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, and Many of the Early Settled Families Copyright 1899, Higginson Book Company (Google e-book)

Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)

I can't believe its been almost two years since I've posted anything here.

I got a lot accomplished on my site.  My mother's (Thomas, Cropper...among others) and Father's (Ginn, Brown) sides of the tree are complete.  Not saying I won't go back occasionally for further research, because all of us know that would be a crock.  But for now I am working on other parts of the tree.

My husband's family is next.  Actually, I've already started on his "Smith" side.  I completed the Schuhmann, the Koch, and the Griffith side (my husband's paternal side).  Now I am starting with the maternal side of his family (Smith, Velsor, Mosman, among others).  

I still have a LOT of work to do.  Haven't done a lot with the O'Brien's yet either.

LOT'S of work to do.

When Normally Reliable Research Tools Go Horribly Wrong!

There are a few tools that some people researching genealogy consider as "go to" when they are doing research on a relative.  One of these tools are census records.  About eight times out of ten, everything is fine...but you have to keep your eyes open in case you happen to come across something like this, that I found last night while researching my Stricklett line.

The person I was researching was Howard Frankford Campbell, the eldest son of Bert C Campbell and Hannah Catherine "Kate" Stricklett.

Name:	Howard Camphell
Age in 1910:	3
Birth Year:	abt 1907
Birthplace:	Nebraska
Home in 1910:	Cuming, Washington, Nebraska
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Son
Marital Status:	Single
Father's Name:	Louie Grimm
Father's Birthplace:	Nebraska
Mother's Birthplace:	Nebraska
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Louie Grimm 34 Bert Camphell 30 [39]  Catherine Camphell 23 Howard Camphell 3 John M Camphell 2 [1 9/12]  Ethel Ballard 17

I have bolded two parts in the above sample:Relation to head of house (son), and Father's Name (Louie Grimm).  If you go back into the 1910 records and break it down, you can see that the actual census form had things correct, and the transcription of the record was faulty.  This is my transcription of what is actually on the 1910 Census for this family:

Louis Grimm - Head- Farmer, General Farm
Bert Campbell - Farmhand
Catherine Campbell - Housekeeper
Howard and John M. Campbell - Sons of Farmhand
Ethel Ballard - Servant.

Howard and John Campbell are the sons of the farmhand for Louis Grimm, Bert Campbell.  They are NOT the sons of Louis Grimm.

This isn't the only discrepancy that I've come across.  For my grandmother on my mother's side, she was listed with her grandfather as her father.  When I was looking through the recently released 1940 census records for my family and neighbors, they had one of the sons of the family next door, who's name is Dorse, listed as a girl named Doris.

So I guess what I am trying to say is keep your eyes open, even on sites that people feel are "go to", because nothing is perfect.  Always check the census form itself, because most mistakes are simple errors of transcription.  Just correct it on your tree, try to let other people doing the same thing know what you learned, and move on.

Which is exactly what I'm doing ;-)

So many Stricklett's, So Little Time...

As you can probably tell from the title of this blogpost...yes, I am still researching the Stricklett branch of my family tree.

Let me see if I can find a good way to tell you where I am in my research.

4th ggfather William Isaac Ginn m. Sarah Jane Thoroughman (13 Jan 1800)

Daughter Elizabeth Ann Ginn m. Peter M. Stricklett (1831)

I have completed researching these children of Elizabeth Ann Ginn and Peter M. Stricklett:

James Peter Stricklett  1832 – 1906

Lewis Stricklett  1834 – 1855

William Ginn Stricklett 1836 – 1922.

I should finish up the family of John B Stricklett (1840 – 1914) today.  That will leave me the families of:

Sarah Stricklett  1842 – 1913

Isaac F. Stricklett 1843 – 

Louisiana (Lucy Ann) Stricklett  1847 – 1888

Lindsey Boyd Stricklett  1848 – 1928

Rebecca R Stricklett  1851 – 1917

Thomas M. Stricklett 1855 – 1901

That should give most researchers a good idea of where I am in the grand scheme of things.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...STRICKLETT!!!

Part of the reason I am doing this blog is to update people as to what part of the family I am working on, since I am hand keying everything and it is going soooooooooo slow.

For the past week and a half, I have been working on my Stricklett line.  Before I started researching my family tree, I had never heard of the name Stricklett.

You might ask yourself where the Stricklett's enter into my family tree.  And I am about to tell you...

My 4th great grandfather is William Isaac Ginn.  He married Sarah Jane Thoroughman on 13 January 1800, in Mason County, Kentucky (Lewis County used to be a part of Mason County).

One of their daughters, Elizabeth Ann Ginn (b. 1814, Lewis County, KY...d.unknown) married Peter M. Stricklett in 1831.  Elizabeth Ann Ginn is my third great grand aunt.

The children of Elizabeth Ann Ginn and Peter M. Stricklett are listed as follows:

James Peter Stricklett (1832-1906) (I am entering information for this branch now)

Lewis Stricklett ++++
1834 – 1855
William Ginn Stricklett ++++1836 – 1922
John B Stricklett ++++1840 – 1914
Sarah Stricklett ++++1842 – 1913
Isaac M Stricklett ++++
Louisiana (Lucy Ann) Stricklett ++++1847 – 1888
Lindsey Boyd Stricklett ++++1848 – 1928
Rebecca R Stricklett ++++1849 – 
Thomas W Stricklett ++++1855 – 1901
As you can see, I have a LOT left to do with the Strickletts.  
James Peter Stricklett married Catherine Carter on 6 July 1854, in Lewis County, Kentucky.  By 1880, or at least the time of the 1880 census, they and their children had moved to Blair, Washington, Nebraska, USA.  James Peter and Catherine remained in Blair for the rest of their lives.  Many of them are buried in Blair Cemetery.  I will try to update on piece of the Stricklett line as I go along, in case there are others researching the Strickletts that want to exchange information or offer suggestions for corrections.

Floyd Bowman Ginn, Sr.

The honor of being the first side of the family to be added to the Ginn Griffith O'Brien family tree (in the remainder of this post to be referred to as the GGOB Tree) has gone to my father, Floyd Bowman Ginn, Sr.

Generation One:  GINN, Floyd Bowman Sr. was born 16 Jul 1922, Charters, Lewis, Kentucky, USA (son of GINN, Thomas Fred and BROWN, Ada Esther); died 14 May 2004, Garrison, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; was buried 16 May 2004, Quincy, Lewis, Kentucky, USA.Floyd married THOMAS, Ardalia Buemont (Beaumont)29 Sep 1939 (elopement), unknown. Ardalia was born 22 Mar 1924, Burtonville, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; died 29 Sep 2003, Portsmouth, Scioto, Ohio USA; was buried Quincy, Lewis, Kentucky, USA. [Group Sheet] Children: Living Living Living GINN, Esther Kay was born 19 Jan 1948, Garrison, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; died 3 Sep 2012, Casey, Clark, Illinois. USA; was buried 8 Sep 2012, Casey-Cumberland Cemetery, Casey, Illinois, USA. GINN, Helen Sue was born 16 Apr 1950, Garrison, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; died 12 May 1951, Garrison, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; was buried Quincy, Lewis, Kentucky, USA. GINN, Arthur Lewis was born 16 Jun 1951, Garrison, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; died 26 Aug 2011, Portsmouth, Scioto, Ohio USA; was buried Quincy, Lewis, Kentucky, USA. GINN, Martha Jane was born 1952, Garrison, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; died 1952, Garrison, Lewis, Kentucky, USA; was buried Quincy, Lewis, Kentucky, USA. Living When you look at things this way, his life was pretty cut and dried.  A family man.  A son.  It's when you start looking at the sources that you begin to actually see a bit into a persons life. Floyd Bowman Ginn was the eldest son of Thomas Fred Ginn and Ada Esther Brown.  He was born at home, in Charters, KY.  He grew up during the Great Depression.  He married young, and since there was disapproval from both sides because of their age, he and my mother eloped.  For the first part of their marriage, they lived with Fred and Ada Ginn (as shown in the 1940 census).  They were married 29 September 1939.  My parents had their first two children (not named because they are living) while living with my grandparents, and when my father left to fight in WWII, he left his family in their care. My father was in the army during WWII.  He was in the http://www.69th-infantry-division.com/histories/272.html, (Battle Axe Infantry).  He used to keep the book (the first one in the link above) in the dresser drawer at the foot of his bed.  I used to love to read it.  After I got married and moved away, one of the first things that I would do when I came home each year was get that book out and read it.  That and a bunch of newspaper clippings that my mom used to have about my dad's time in the war from Stars and Stripes and other sources.  All of these things disappeared just after my father died.   His feet were severely frostbitten, and he was in a military hospital until the end of the war. At some point, my father moved his family out of his parents house.  But they did not move very far away.  They ended up less than a quarter mile away from his parents.  The first house that they lived in at this site was very small.  By the time I was born, my father had begun work on his cinderblock house with four bedrooms, a living room, an eat in kitchen, and a bathroom.  This is the house that I remember.  It was completed when I was about two years old, because I have seen pictures of me playing in front of the old house.  The cinderblock house was always my home.  My parents lived there until the day they died. My father always had two jobs for as long as I can remember.  He would get up very early in the morning to go to work at the Portsmouth Casting Company.  He would come home from work at his first job about three in the afternoon, then he would start his second job...being a farmer.  He worked both his farm and his father's.   They had livestock...cows, pigs, and chickens.  They grew their own hay to feed the livestock, and would sell of what they didn't need.  They also grew tobacco on both farms.  They grew corn for feeding livestock, and corn for us.  Dad used to have a roadside stand where he would sell corn, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers...but he always took care of us too.  Every year there was canning to be done...tomatoes, corn, cabbage, jelly, hot peppers.  He used to make "hot sauerkraut",  a recipe that came from his sister, where you would put hot peppers in to cure with the sauerkraut, and when you put it on hot dogs, it was out of this world. My parents loved all of their children.  They didn't have to say it.  You could feel it, like something tangible in the air that would wrap itself around you and let you know that everything was going to be okay.  They loved us and they loved each other.  The only time my father and mother were apart was when he went off to fight in WWII.  When my brother Bub (Arthur Lewis Ginn in the list above) was injured in a car accident in the eighties, they kept him at home and took care of him for the rest of their lives. My mother died first.  She died on their 64th wedding anniversary, 29 Sept 2003.  Dad wasn't the same after that.  He missed her terribly.  Dad died on 14 May 2004. Floyd Ginn Sr. 1922-2004 Floyd Ginn Sr., 81, of Garrison, died Friday, May 14, 2004, at his residence. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ardalia B. Ginn. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Monday, May 17, 2004, at Garrison Funeral Chapel with Hillary Underwood and Tim Underwood officiating. Burial will be at Sunset Cemetery at Quincy. Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. today, May 16, 2004, and Monday, May 16, 2004, from 10 a.m. until the time of service at the funeral home.

Research, Research, and more Research...

For today's post, I added links for various genealogy sites that I have used for research over the years.  Some, like Steven Morse's One-Step, or Cyndi's List, are pretty universally used.  Others are more obscure.  They are all great resources for genealogical research.

I got so caught up in doing things for this site today, I have neglected the family tree.

I've been trying all day to use html to make a line of family photos just under the banner.

Did I mention that I am for all intents and purposes computer illiterate?

But I was convinced that I could do it.  Yup.  I lost a whole afternoon on it.  My inability to do it has overcome my inherited stubbornness.  You have to know when to hold them, and know when to fold them.  I've folded them.

Grrrrrrr...still bothers me.

I hope everyone has had a more productive day that I have. 

Update!!!!  I finally did it.  I hope to add more photos tomorrow.

Persistence pays!!

Anyone interested in how I did it?  I opened a free account on flickr to host the photos, and then went to a site called "Create your own sideFlickr!"  located at this link http://www.slideflickr.com/create/